Front end creak Was: tic, tic?

From : larryd

Q: i had a similar sounding clunk on my 2004 dakota quad cab 4.7 w/ manual trans... i also felt it through the steering wheel and brake and clutch pedals. the dealer ended up replacing the secondary steering shaft which fixed the problem. my clunk was most noticible when taking off from a stop especially if i had to turn the wheel. larry d. .

Replies:

From : larryd

that sounds about right. =a0my haynes manual is still in transit. =a0woul= d i be able to get my hands on the secondary steering shaft and how would i test it i did have a tsb done a while back something about the steering column slipping off a bracket or something. =a0made no difference. =a0theres no play in the steering wheel i cant move it from side to side or anything= .. was that an expensive and/or time consuming repair jmc it didnt cost me anything as it is still under warranty. although i suspected it i didnt try to tell the service manager what i thought it was. i just told him the symptoms. he said it was most likely the stabilizer bar busings or the secondary steering shaft. as i said they ended up replacing the secondary steering shaft. i do have the factory service manual. in the diagnosis and testing section under steering noise it lists under rattle or clunk 1. gear mounting bolts loose correction is to tighten bolts to specification 2. loose of damaged suspension components correction is to inspect and repair suspension 3. internal gear noise correction is to replace steering gear 4. pressure hose in contact with other components correction is to reposition hose 5. loose or damaged intermediate shaft or column correction is to inspect and repair or replace so as you see it lists possible causes for the noise but it does not have procedures for diagnosing the particular components. i think they chose the most likely candidate and then just replaced it. at any rate it describes the procedure for replacing the steering shafts. for the lower steering coupling is says begin quote removal 1 disconnect the negative battery terminal 2 raise and support the wheels note the steering column on vehicles with an automatic transmission may not be equipped with an internal locking shaft that allows the ignition key cylinder to be locked with the key. alternative methods of locking the steerin wheel for service will have to be used. 3 lock the steering wheel with the tire in the straight position. 4 remove and discard the upper coupler pinch bolt fig. 9. 5 remove and discard the lower coupler pinch bolt fig. 9. 6 remove the lower steering shaft coupler fig. 9 installation 1 install the lower coupler to the steering rack and pinion fig. 9 2 install the upper coupler to the lower fig. 9 note new pinchy bolts must be used for reinstallation 3 install teh lower pinch bolt fig.9 and tighten to 57 n-m 42 ft. lbs. 4 install the upper pinch bolt fig. 9 and tighten to 57 n-m 42 ft. lbs 5 lower the vehicle 6 reconnect the negative battery cable. 7 unlock the steering wheel end quote. now you may be wondering why i put in this verbatim including the references to fig. 9 which i obviously couldnt type in. i did this because even with the picture it is scant help. the part descriptions in the figure do not match the part descriptions in the above procedure. fig. 9 refers to the following parts 1 lower coupler bolt 2 lower coupler 3 toe plate 4 toe plate mounting nuts 5 upper coupler mounting bolt and nut 6 upper steering coupler shaft 7 rack and pinion i hate to say it but the factory shop manuals i have for my toyotas 89 pu 2000 camry 92 tercel are much better than the dakota manual. luckily i have not had to use the dak manual much as it is still under warranty its a 2004 with only 16k miles on it and i have an extended warranty. sorry but you now know pretty much as much as i know about the secondary steering shaft diagnosis and replacement. larry d. .

From : jmc

suddenly without warning larryd exclaimed 8/1/2008 501 pm i had a similar sounding clunk on my 2004 dakota quad cab 4.7 w/ manual trans... i also felt it through the steering wheel and brake and clutch pedals. the dealer ended up replacing the secondary steering shaft which fixed the problem. my clunk was most noticible when taking off from a stop especially if i had to turn the wheel. larry d. that sounds about right. my haynes manual is still in transit. would i be able to get my hands on the secondary steering shaft and how would i test it i did have a tsb done a while back something about the steering column slipping off a bracket or something. made no difference. theres no play in the steering wheel i cant move it from side to side or anything. was that an expensive and/or time consuming repair jmc .